Question re. partner working under other half's skilled migrant visa

[worst_trip]

Hi, I wonder if anyone has an answer for a pretty basic question regarding the EOI for the skilled migrant category of visa?

If we successfully apply for a skilled migrant 'with family' visa under my name, will it be possible for my other half (partner of 15+ years to whom I'm not married) to work in NZ if I don't have a job?

It works out that we'll get more points if I'm the principal applicant, but as jobs in my line of work (university lecturer) are pretty thin on the ground, I think my other half would be more likely to secure an actual job offer in NZ before I manage to find something. The problem is, though his line of work is listed under the 'long term skill shortage' category (environmental engineer), his degree was not in the required field for that category (enviornmental science) so it doesn't look like we can't apply for the visa under his name.

This is a pretty basic point we need to sort out before starting on our EOI - but I haven't been able to find a definitive answer anywhere.

I'd really appreciate help from anyone who knows the answer to my question!
All best wishes
Kat

[MotherBear]

Welcome to the forum Worst_trip.

The usual thing with the SMC visa is that close family members can be included on the application form and will get residency along with the principal applicant. Having residency will allow your partner to work at whatever job he wants. What you need to be aware of though is that, if you don't get straight residency i.e. with no additional requirements to be met, you could end up having to get a job to fullfil the requirement. Problems can arise if you are applying for residency without a job offer. In this case, INZ may well grant you a Work to Residence visa instead of full residency. This allows the holder 9 months to search for and work at a new job after which you can go on to residency if you have complied. Failure to comply could be disastrous for your chances of staying in NZ.

[worst_trip]

Many thanks for that, Mother Bear. Gosh, perhaps I've been a bit naive about the whole visa-application process. Doing the basic points calculator I end up with something like 150 points under my skills / qualification combo and based on that, I assumed we'd be home and dry with applying for the skilled migrant category visa.

What I didn't realize that if you were applying for residence under one category of visa (in our case skilled migrant), you might end up being awarded something else (a 'conditional' work to residence visa instead). Although that somewhat throws a spanner in the works, it's definitely better to know about this sort of thing beforehand.
Thanks again and all best wishes
kat

[MotherBear]

I should have mentioned, if you have 140 points or more and everything checks out and there are no probs with health or character reports etc., selection for residency should be automatic, so you probably wouldn't have to worry about being offered a WTR visa instead of residency.